Offshore

What’s next for Vineyard Wind 1?

What’s next for Vineyard Wind 1?
The Vineyard Wind 1 site, located about 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard near Nantucket, Massachusetts (courtesy: Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova)

GE Vernova details next steps as Massachusetts delays fourth offshore wind procurement

Vineyard Wind GE Vernova has released a public overview of its action plan addressing the next steps for the Vineyard 1 site, about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The Vineyard Wind 1 project has been in limbo since an incident last month led to a wind turbine blade breaking off and falling into the ocean. GE Vernova officials suspect a “manufacturing deviation” to be the root cause of the problem, “which should have been identified through the quality assurance process at the blade manufacturing facility,” the company says. Fiberglass, foam, and other debris has been washing ashore numerous New England beaches over the last few weeks. According to the Nantucket Current, chunks of the doomed blade were still detaching and plummeting into the water below amidst heavy winds this past weekend.

GE Vernova intends to safely remove the remainder of the damaged blade on turbine AW-38, continue collecting any debris, resume turbine installation, and ultimately continue operations of the Vineyard Wind 1 project. The blade incident response and action plan, which outlines the steps the parties will follow to recover the remainder of the blade on the turbine, was developed in consultation with federal agencies including the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the U.S. Coast Guard. GE Vernova says the strategy is the result of thousands of hours devoted to the operation’s development, review, and testing. It was intensively focused on the safety of personnel and evaluated against other alternatives to arrive at an approach for a successful operation that prioritizes safety.

“From the start of this event, our response has been focused on the safety of everyone involved,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Møller. “As we move forward to this next phase and begin removing the remainder of the damaged blade, we will continue to safeguard the public and the environment through our robust land, air, and sea debris recovery system.”

“Our top imperative as a company is to work with our stakeholders on addressing the impacts of this blade event with thoroughness and urgency,” added GE Vernova Chief Sustainability Officer Roger Martella. “With safety first and foremost in our actions, our focus is on removing the remaining blade, assessing environmental and marine impacts, and executing a strong, three-point plan for blade performance so the project can succeed in its goals of providing sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy and jobs to New England.” 

The blade removal operation entails four tasks developed in alignment with Resolve Marine, one of the world’s leading salvage companies: rotating the blade to reduce hanging blade and possible controlled cutting; removing the root of the blade from the hub; removing fallen debris from the platform; and addressing seabed debris.

Part of GE Vernova’s action plan to safely resume operations at Vineyard Wind 1

For an installed turbine at the Vineyard Wind project to begin or restart power production, the following criteria must be satisfied:

  • Re-review ultrasound photos: Re-process over 8,300 ultrasound testing (UT) records to determine whether bond requirements are satisfied. Any issues identified will be further inspected and corrective action taken as necessary.
  • Internal Visual inspection: Advanced remote-controlled wheeled drones called “crawlers” are inserted into the manufactured blades to allow for current-state visual inspection of the blades. Crawlers are equipped with video cameras that can capture photos and videos for review by technicians to examine critical blade elements. Any anomalies identified will be flagged for further review prior to service. 
  • Ongoing real-time monitoring with new technology: GE Vernova is deploying a new algorithm, using existing sensors already in the blade, and monitoring blade health to avoid similar events. The algorithm will provide advanced warnings or automatic, safe turbine shutdown when required.

The overview also outlines Vineyard Wind’s plan ultimately to resume safe turbine installation and restart operations. No blades will be installed or used in operations until thoroughly inspected.

Vineyard Wind says it has established a rigorous debris recovery system under established safety protocols, utilizing a combination of vessel surveying, aerial monitoring, and US Coast Guard modeling, to track debris. The company has also established direct communication with Tribal Nations, federal, state, and local officials, and first responder agencies to provide notification of debris impacts. 

Massachusetts delays fourth offshore wind procurement

In the meantime, Massachusetts’ Department of Energy Resources (DER) has announced it has delayed the deadline for selecting projects in its fourth (and largest) offshore wind procurement.

DER has postponed its selection from August 7 to September 6, 2024.

“The additional time is needed to consider any impacts to this solicitation from the recently announced federal grant to New England states through the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) grid innovation program for projects to invest in regional electric infrastructure to ready the onshore transmission system for offshore wind,” DER said in a statement.

Avangrid Renewables, SouthCoast Wind, and Vineyard Offshore have submitted bids, which are publicly available here.

Another blade bummer

And in mostly unrelated but still relevant news: another day, another giant turbine winding up somewhere it’s not supposed to be.

The above tweet post on X from Maine State Police shows the aftermath of a collision involving a tractor-trailer hauling a windmill blade to Columbia, Maine this weekend. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. The turbine blade has since been removed from the area and traffic is back to normal. Could we be a little more careful with these things?!?